USDA Rural Development Acting State Director Denise Meeks announces that USDA is providing nearly $4 million in Fiscal Year 2017 to help improve access to health care services in rural Nebraska communities.
Nebraska rural health care projects funded:
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Community Memorial Hospital, Inc. received a near $2.4 million subsequent loan to assist with the new 46,000 square foot licensed acute 10 bed hospital. Included is a surgical suite with one operating room, scope room, and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). A lab, pharmacy, food service, rehabilitation services, cardio pulmonary services, building support will be housed. The central energy plant will utilize 2,700 square feet along with 21,000 square feet for a clinic and administration area. The clinic space will include both family and specialty clinic services. To house the air handling units of the facility will be a 5,000 square foot penthouse. A separate 1,500 square foot stand-alone building to house building and grounds maintenance equipment will be incorporated. The Syracuse, Nebraska facility will serve 14,776 rural residents. The Community Memorial Hospital District contributed an additional $250,000.
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Rural Development provided a $1.6 million loan to Gothenburg Memorial Hospital, Inc. of Gothenburg, Nebraska.This subsequent funding from USDA will be used primarily for the costs to complete the hospital addition/renovations. The hospital size is increasing to 97,000 square feet, with almost 40 percent of the existing square footage to be demolished. Improvements include a prominent main entry on the south side of the building, new patient wing and central nurses’ station, IV therapy, inpatient pharmacy, chemotherapy care, wellness center and a new dietary center. Expansion of the imaging department will include new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. The facility serves the 5,740 rural residents of Gothenburg and surrounding communities.
USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in Fiscal Year 2017 through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program. The loans can be used to fund essential community services. For health care, this includes to construct, expand or improve health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics and assisted-living facilities, as well as to purchase equipment. Public bodies, non-profit organizations and federally recognized tribes in rural areas and towns with up to 20,000 people are eligible for these loans.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; homeownership; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.